Department for Transport

Buses: North of England

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of carbon-neutral buses in northern cities.

Rachel Maclean: The Government is committed to promoting the bus sector as a key contributor to air quality and carbon reduction targets. The Government published a suite of policies in A Better Deal for Bus Users, which includes a review of bus funding to ensure it supports the environment and improved passenger journeys. The Department is currently seeking expressions of interest from towns and cities interested in becoming an ‘All-Electric Bus Town’.Further details can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apply-for-the-all-electric-bus-town-scheme The Prime Minister announced funding for at least 4,000 new zero emission buses as part of the £5 billion of new funding to boost bus and cycling links announced on 10 February. Further details on how that money will be allocated will be available in due course. The Department is committed to supporting improved bus services in the North, including low carbon buses.

Buses: Exhaust Emissions

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department plans to increase subsidies to encourage bus companies to introduce carbon-neutral bus fleets.

Rachel Maclean: The Department has announced a number of approaches to encourage bus companies to green the fleet. In September 2019, we announced £50 million towards the creation of an all-electric bus town, and a review of bus funding to ensure it supports the environment and improved passenger journeys, alongside a National Bus Strategy for England. In February 2020, we also announced funding for at least 4,000 new zero emission buses as part of the £5 billion of new funding to boost bus and cycling links, driving forward the UK’s progress on its net zero ambitions.

Buses: Exhaust Emissions

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department plans to adopt the target of all buses in the UK being carbon-neutral by the mid-2020s.

Rachel Maclean: The Department supports an ambitious approach to decarbonising the transport sector. Since 2010, over £240m has been provided to clean up the bus fleet, including £48 million in 2018 that funded 263 zero emission buses through the Ultra-Low Emission Bus Scheme. In September 2019, we announced a package of commitments in A Better Deal for Bus Users, including a further £220 million to support buses of which £50 million is available for an all-electric bus town or city. Other commitments include a review of bus funding to ensure it supports the environment and improved passenger journeys, and a National Bus Strategy to be published later this year. The Prime Minster announced £5 billion of new funding for buses and cycling on 10 February 2020, which will provide at least 4,000 new zero emission buses as well as many other measures to be detailed in the National Bus Strategy. The Transport Decarbonisation Plan, which will be published later this year, will set out a cross-modal approach to decarbonisation.

Electric Vehicles: Charging Points

Carla Lockhart: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of charging points for electric vehicles in rural areas.

Rachel Maclean: Along with the private sector, the Government will invest £1 billion in charging infrastructure, ensuring that everyone is within 30 miles of a rapid charging station. We are already investing nearly £1.5bn‎ between April 2015 and March 2021 to support the transition to zero emission motoring and have put in place a range of grant schemes to support the installation of charging infrastructure, available in any urban or rural areas of the UK, including Northern Ireland.Under the Government’s Go Ultra Low City Scheme, £22.9m has been allocated to support the installation of infrastructure in several UK cities and wider surrounding rural areas. Last year work commenced to determine a vision for a core rapid charger network on England’s strategic road network and we aim to report on this in Spring 2020. Our jointly funded £400 million Chargepoint Infrastructure Investment Fund’s first investment round, worth a total of £70 million, will ensure the delivery of a further 3,000 rapid charging devices by 2024, more than doubling the current number of rapid charging devices.

Biofuels: Carbon Emissions

Matt Vickers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the use of E10 fuel on the UK's carbon emissions.

Rachel Maclean: Biofuels, such as ethanol, have a lower impact on net CO2 emissions compared with fossil fuel derived petrol. In the consultation paper “E10 petrol, consumer protection and fuel pump labelling”, the Department noted that using bioethanol in place of fossil fuels can reduce CO2 emissions by around 65% for an equivalent volume of fossil fuel. As a result, increasing the proportion of bioethanol in petrol from 5 to 10% could reduce the CO2 emissions of a vehicle by around 2%. Recently, the Government has made significant progress in relation to policy on E10 and we will publish our response to the previous call for evidence on E10, as well as next steps, as soon as possible.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Regulation

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether it remains Government policy for new regulations to be subject to the one-in-two-out rule.

Nadhim Zahawi: The Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 requires the Government to set a Business Impact Target (BIT), which monitors changes to regulation and the economic impact this has on businesses. The ‘one-in-two-out’ rule has supported the BIT for previous Parliaments.The Government is currently considering what the BIT should be for this Parliament.

Post Offices

Marion Fellows: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many Crown post offices have (a) operated and (b) closed in (i) Scotland, (ii) Wales, (iii) Northern Ireland and (iv) England in each of the last five years.

Paul Scully: The Government recognises the critical role that post offices play in communities and for small businesses across the UK. This is why the Government committed to safeguard the post office network and protect existing rural services. The overall number of post offices across the UK remains at its most stable in decades with over 11,500 branches thanks to significant Government investment of over £2 billion since 2010. While the Government sets the strategic direction for the Post Office, it allows the company the commercial freedom to deliver this strategy as an independent business. The number of Crown Post Office which are either operational or closed throughout the UK is an operational matter for Post Office Limited. I have therefore asked Nick Read, the Group Chief Executive of Post Office Limited, to write to the hon Member on this matter. A copy of his reply will be placed in the libraries of the House.

Incinerators: Carbon Capture and Storage

Caroline Nokes: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many incinerators meet the current 300MW threshold whereby they must demonstrate carbon capture readiness.

Kwasi Kwarteng: The requirement to demonstrate carbon capture readiness applies to applications for power stations with an electrical generating capacity at or over 300 MW and of a type covered by the EU Large Combustion Plant Directive (LCPD). Energy from waste generating stations are not covered by the LCPD. Therefore energy from waste generating stations of any capacity do not have to demonstrate carbon capture readiness.

Energy Supply: Investment

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking with Ofgem to ensure investment decisions of the Distribution Network Operators are based on comprehensive and whole life cost benefit assessments.

Kwasi Kwarteng: Network regulation is a matter for the independent regulator, Ofgem. Under its RIIO price control framework, Ofgem’s cost benefit assessments take into account the whole life costs and impacts of Distribution Network Operator (DNO) investments. In addition, DNOs are funded and incentivised to maintain existing assets to ensure their longer-term resilience.

Energy Supply

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what meetings his Department has held with Ofgem on the importance of individual Distribution Network Operator supply chain strategies.

Kwasi Kwarteng: Network regulation is a matter for the independent regulator, Ofgem. Under the RIIO price control, Ofgem provides Distribution Network Operators (DNOs) with sufficient allowances to finance and develop their networks to meet the needs of current and future consumers. Ofgem also incentivises DNOs to deliver cost efficiencies and maintain service quality which guides DNO procurement and supply chain strategies. The Department has not held any meetings with Ofgem on DNO supply chain strategies.

Fossil Fuels: North of England

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether she is taking steps to discourage fossil fuel extraction in the north of England; and if she will make a statement.

Kwasi Kwarteng: As we continue to move to a low carbon economy we need to ensure we have a balanced energy mix so we have a reliable, clean and affordable energy system. This means that in the medium term there will be a role for some fossil fuels. The Government has been clear that the development of domestic energy sources must be safe and environmentally sound. As such, we have put in place a robust regulatory regime which provides a comprehensive framework for exploration and production activities.

Coal: Cumbria

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether she has plans in place to offset the carbon emissions resulting from the extraction of coal in the event that Woodhouse colliery in Cumbria reopens.

Kwasi Kwarteng: National Planning Policy is clear that planning permission should not be granted for the extraction of coal unless the proposal is environmentally acceptable or the national, local or community benefits outweigh its likely impacts. The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government leads on planning policy for coal mines in England.The Government is committed to bringing all greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050. A key part of this is closing all unabated coal generation domestically by 2025. As a result of existing policies, we have already made great headway in reducing our reliance on coal, which fell from 39% of annual electricity generation in 2012 to less than 3% in 2019. We will shortly consult on bringing the deadline for ending unabated coal forward from 2025 to 2024.

Infrastructure: Carbon Emissions

Alex Chalk: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he has to review the compatibility of sections 41 and 42 of the Infrastructure Act 2015 with the Government’s target to meet net zero emissions by 2050.

Kwasi Kwarteng: The Petroleum Act 1998 (as amended by the Infrastructure Act 2015, amongst others), places a duty on the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) to produce and give effect to one or more strategies to enable the principal objective of maximising the economic recovery of petroleum from UK waters to be met. The OGA has announced that it will shortly be revising its strategy and will have regard to the need for the oil and gas sector to minimise its own carbon emissions and support the transition to Net Zero. As we transition to a low carbon economy, there will continue to be a need for oil and gas, which are projected to provide around two-thirds of our total primary energy demand in 2035. All scenarios proposed by the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) setting out how we could meet our 2050 emissions target include demand for natural gas.

Nucleus

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what progress has been made by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority in establishing Nucleus, the national nuclear archive, at Wick; what proportion of the known documentation destined for Nucleus has been shipped to the site to date; what plans there are to digitise the archive contents to facilitate remote searching and access; and what use has been made of Nucleus by outside interested parties since it was opened.

Nadhim Zahawi: The Nucleus nuclear archive building in Wick opened in February 2017. Since, an estimated 20% of the relevant records held at the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority’s (NDA) sites have been transferred there, while transfer of off-site records is approximately 40% complete. Dounreay’s records were the first to be transferred, including over 300,000 photographs and 200 tonnes of documents. Material from 16 other sites will be moved gradually over the next five years. In the longer term, a searchable Archive Management System will provide online access to the material; security restrictions will apply to certain records. A digitisation programme to prepare a specification and scope of work began last year. The facility has been primarily used by the local community and international nuclear community. It has hosted events for various international organisations, such as the Nuclear Energy Agency and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Most local visitors access the Caithness Archives, which is located at Wick alongside the nuclear collection.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah

Paul Bristow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations his Department has made to the Indian Government and the Indian High Commission on the arrest of (a) Mehbooba Mufti and (b) Omar Abdullah under the Public Safety Act that allows for detention for two years without trial; and if he will make a statement.

Nigel Adams: It would not be appropriate to comment on these specific cases. We are monitoring the situation in Kashmir closely. We are concerned by reports of ongoing detentions and call for these to be lifted as soon as possible. We have raised our concerns with the Government of India. Most recently, the Minister of State for South Asia and the Commonwealth (Lord Ahmad), discussed the situation in Kashmir and our concerns, including political detentions, with a senior representative from the Ministry of External Affairs on 25 February.

Tony Blair

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many times Rt Hon Tony Blair visited (a) Israel, (b) Gaza and (c) the West Bank during his tenure as the Middle East Peace Envoy of the Quartet.

James Cleverly: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not hold this information. The issue of visits made by the Rt Hon Tony Blair to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories during his tenure as the Middle East Peace Envoy is one for the Office of the Quartet.

Syria: Armed Conflict

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the situation in Northern Syria.

James Cleverly: We are closely following developments in north-west Syria and are deeply concerned about the ongoing offensive by the Syrian regime and Russia which has displaced over 800,000 civilians. We have repeatedly called for an immediate ceasefire, including at the UN Security Council on 14 February, and for all parties to abide by their obligations under International Humanitarian Law. The former Minister of State for the Middle East and North Africa reaffirmed our support for Turkish diplomatic efforts to seek a renewed ceasefire during a visit to Turkey on 5-6 February.

Syria: Armed Conflict

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what his policy is on Kurdish representatives participating in future multi-party discussions on the long-term future of Syria.

James Cleverly: The United Kingdom believes an inclusive UN-led political process, with participation from all major political and ethnic groups in Syria including the Kurds, is the best means to achieve a lasting political settlement to the Syrian conflict on the basis of UN Security Council Resolution 2254.

Jagtar Singh Johal

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to his Indian counterpart on the case of Jagtar Singh Johal.

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his Indian counterpart on the provision of (a) medical treatment and (b) legal representation to Jagtar Singh Johal.

Nigel Adams: Mr Johal's welfare is a priority, as is ensuring his ongoing access to his legal representatives. Our consular staff continue to visit Mr Johal regularly. The Foreign Secretary raised Mr Johal's case on 1 August with the Indian Foreign Minister. Most recently, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon raised Mr Johal's case with India's Ministry of External Affairs on 25 February. Lord Ahmad also met Mr Johal's family on 24 October 2019 to discuss his case.

Amazonia: Tree Felling

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his Brazilian counterpart on the deforestation of the Amazon rainforest.

Wendy Morton: The UK has been dedicated to addressing the issue of deforestation in Brazil for a long time. Since 2012, the UK has invested nearly £154 million in a number of International Climate Finance programmes in Brazil aimed at tackling deforestation, preventing forest fires, and implementing the Forest Code. The Prime Minister also raised the environment with President Bolsonaro during a phone call on 15 January. The UK will continue to monitor the situation in the Amazon closely and raise these critical issues in our ongoing dialogue with Brazil.

British Overseas Territories: Trade

Scott Benton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what support his Department is giving to the British Overseas Territories to help develop their trade links with surrounding economies.

Wendy Morton: The Government is committed to supporting the sustainable economic development of the British Overseas Territories (OTs). The Territories have some autonomy over their own trade relationships, and many already have established trading links with their neighbours. Working jointly with the Department for International Trade, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is exploring opportunities for the OTs to strengthen their global trade standing. This has included considering their interests in future Free Trade Agreements, posts connecting to our overseas network, and the GREAT campaign.

Northern Ireland Office

Stormont House Agreement

Simon Hoare: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, with reference to paragraph 16 of annex A of New Decade, New Approach, on what date the 100-day period to introduce legislation to implement the Stormont House Agreement expires.

Simon Hoare: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, with reference to the commitment in paragraph 16 of Annex A of New Decade, New Approach to publish legislation to implement the Stormont House Agreement, whether he plans to publish this legislation in draft.

Brandon Lewis: The Government is committed to reforming the current legacy system in Northern Ireland in a way which provides reconciliation for victims and greater certainty for veterans. We are working across government and in the context of consultation responses to develop the Stormont House Agreement proposals, and will provide further details about this legislation as soon as we are able to.

Stormont House Agreement

Stephen Farry: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what the Government's policy is on the legacy aspects of the Stormont House Agreement.

Mr Robin Walker: The Government has always been clear that the Stormont House Agreement will be implemented in a way that provides certainty for veterans and justice for victims. The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland will be working closely with others on the way forward.

Veterans: Northern Ireland

Stephen Farry: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether an assessment has been made of the capacity of the Northern Ireland criminal justice system to address vexatious investigations or prosecutions against veterans of the UK armed forces; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Robin Walker: The Government has been clear that the system for investigating incidents that took place during the Troubles must be balanced, proportionate and fair. We are committed to addressing the legacy of the past in Northern Ireland to provide justice for victims and greater certainty for military veterans.

Electoral Office for Northern Ireland

Carla Lockhart: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland is permitted to keep a record of all correspondence issued by that office; and whether those records are kept.

Mr Robin Walker: The retention of correspondence issued by the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland is an operational matter for the Chief Electoral Officer for Northern Ireland.

Department of Health and Social Care

Contraceptives and Hormone Replacement Therapy: Shortages

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish a list of each of the (a) HRT and (b) contraceptive medications subject to NHS supply shortages as at 12 February 2020.

Jo Churchill: The Department shares regular updates about supply issues affecting hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and contraceptive products directly with the National Health Service and communicates with other networks including the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. These communications include information about mitigation actions and management plans to ensure affected patients can be managed appropriately.All information included within these communication documents are written for healthcare professionals. The Department does not share this information publicly.

NHS: Finance

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many individual funding requests were refused in the NHS in the last 12 months; what procedures were used for making those refusals; and what the reasons were for each of those refusals.

Jo Churchill: The information requested is not held centrally by the Department.

Mental Health Services

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the needs of people with mental health problems are being met within (a) primary care and (b) general practice.

Jo Churchill: The NHS Long Term Plan commits to developing and rolling-out a new primary care and community-based offer for people with severe mental illness. This includes access to psychological therapies, improved physical health care and employment support, giving 370,000 adults greater choice and control over their care and support them to live well in their communities. The NHS Long Term Plan also commits to expanding access to psychological therapies further – to reach 380,000 more adults by 2023/24.The Update to the GP contract agreement 2020/21 to 2023/24 commits to adding mental health practitioner roles to the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme from April 2021. In addition, NHS England and NHS Improvement and the General Practitioners Committee England have agreed to an ongoing programme of general practice quality outcome framework indicator review in key priority areas, including mental health in 2020/21.

Radiotherapy: Medical Equipment

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 10 February 2020 to Question 12197 on Mount Vernon Hospital Northwood and Northwick Park Hospital: Radiotherapy, what the cost to the public purse will be of replacing each linear accelerator that is due to be replaced in 2020; whether his Department has allocated funding for those replacements; and if he will make a statement.

Jo Churchill: The replacement of Linear Accelerators is the responsibility of the providers and should form part of their capital programmes. Costs per Linear Accelerator vary depending on the machine required and the price sourced by the National Health Service supply chain framework, and also on the works necessary to carry out the replacement. A typical replacement machine costs from £1.5 million.East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust has not yet agreed its capital programme for 2020/21 but has identified a requirement for £2.5 million capital funds which the Board will consider along with other capital priorities when it agrees how to spend its capital budget.

Incontinence: Medical Equipment

Mr Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether it remains his policy that clinicians are able to prescribe  whichever product on Part IX of the Drug Tariff is considered by the clinician to be most appropriate for a patient’s needs.

Jo Churchill: Decisions about policy on the provision of medical products available from Part IX of the Drug Tariff are a matter for local clinical commissioning groups and National Health Service trusts, taking account of the needs of their local populations and national guidance, e.g. ‘Items which should not routinely be prescribed in primary care: Guidance for CCGs’ which was updated by NHS England and NHS Improvement and NHS Clinical Commissioners in June 2019. Clinicians are expected to prescribe products that meet their patients’ clinical needs taking account of local commissioning policies as appropriate.

National Cancer Screening Programmes in England Review

Dr Lisa Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his timescale is for publication of the implementation plan for the recommendations of Professor Sir Mike Richard’s independent review of adult screening programmes in England, published in October 2019.

Dr Lisa Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress his Department has made on implementing the recommendations of Professor Sir Mike Richard’s independent review of adult screening programmes in England.

Jo Churchill: The Department, NHS England and NHS Improvement and Public Health England are considering the findings of Professor Sir Mike Richards’ report, together with recommendations made by the Public Accounts Committee and the National Audit Office and any outstanding recommendations form the Independent Breast Screening Review, as part of a wider screening improvement programme.We intend to publish an implementation plan in spring 2020, which will build on the findings from Professor Richards’ review and include actions that will support delivery of our vision for a more personalised, targeted screening offer as set out in the Green Paper ‘Advancing our Health: Prevention in the 2020s’.

Cancer: Diagnosis

Dr Lisa Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effect of the 70 per cent target threshold for the faster diagnosis standard for cancer on diagnosis of stage (a) one and (b) two cancer.

Dr Lisa Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to incentivise (a) cancer alliances and (b) NHS trusts to raise their performance threshold for the Faster Diagnosis Standard for cancer.

Dr Lisa Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the NHS Operational and Contracting Guidance 2020-21, when the consultation on the Faster Diagnosis Standard for cancer closed; and when that guidance was published.

Jo Churchill: In recognition that current standards measure time to be seen by a doctor rather than the time to being provided a diagnosis of cancer, in 2015 the Independent Cancer Taskforce recommended the introduction of a new standard, to ensure that people receive a life changing confirmation of whether or not they have cancer within 28 days.The Faster Diagnosis Standard (FDS) has been tested as part of the wider clinical review of access standards, and no performance threshold has yet been set.The NHS Standard Contract consultation, which closed at the end of January, set an initial expectation that the threshold will be set between 70-85%, and outlined NHS England and NHS Improvement’s intention to increase the performance threshold over time as appropriate. The threshold for the FDS will be included in the finalised standard contact for 2020/21.NHS England and NHS Improvement are responsible for the performance management of NHS providers, and will ensure appropriate contractual and financial levers are in place to drive performance improvement.

Hormone Replacement Therapy

Nick Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of supply of hormone replacement therapy; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions his Department has had with pharmaceutical suppliers on the supply of Hormone Replacement Therapy medications at (a) Ministerial and (b) official levels since 1 January 2020.

Jo Churchill: We are aware of ongoing supply issues with some hormone replacement therapy (HRT) preparations due to a range of issues including manufacturing issues, regulatory issues and problems accessing the raw pharmaceutical ingredient as well as commercial decisions made by some companies to divest these products. Although some HRT products are affected by supply issues, supplies of other alternative HRT products remain available.We regularly update the National Health Service on the supply situation and availability of HRT products and are continuing to engage with organisations such as the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, the Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare and the British Menopausal Society. As part of this engagement, in November 2019 the British Menopausal Society with the support of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists published clinical guidance to aid prescribing during this time.

Contraceptives

Nick Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the volume of contraceptive drug supplies; and if he will make a statement.

Jo Churchill: The Department is aware of supply issues affecting a limited number of contraceptives due to manufacturing issues. Most contraceptive medicines and products remain available, including alternatives to those experiencing supply issues.We have been working closely with affected suppliers of contraceptive medicines to maintain overall access to patients and have provided regular updates about these issues and management advice to the National Health Service.We understand the importance of maintaining access to contraceptives medicines to people in this country and will continue to work with all relevant stakeholders to resolve the supply issues as quickly as possible.

Cannabidiol: Side Effects

Mrs Andrea Jenkyns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his Department's policy to undertake further research on the side effects of cannabidiol products.

Helen Whately: The Department’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including on cannabidiol products; it is not usual practice to ring-fence funds for particular topics or conditions. Applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality. The NIHR has identified research on cannabis-based medicinal products as a priority and has issued two calls for research proposals on this area.

Dementia: Health Services

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 11 February 2020 to Question 12283 on Dementia: Diagnosis, if he will make it his policy to instruct CCGs to allocate funding for dementia sufferers.

Helen Whately: Holding answer received on 27 February 2020



The Government has no plans to change the policy on the commissioning of services or to instruct clinical commissioning groups to allocate specific amounts of funding for dementia.

Department for International Development

Developing Countries: Human Trafficking

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 30 January 2020 to Question 8428, how many of the 400,000 children protected by the Children on the Move Programme were adolescent girls.

James Cleverly: ‘Children on the Move’ is operating over three years (2017-2020) to prevent and respond to violence, abuse and exploitation of children who are at greatest risk of migration and modern slavery. Adolescent girls are amongst the target group.By December 2019, 377,003 children had been reached with protective services under phase one and two of the programme. Disaggregated data on sex was not available for phase one and not available for adolescence age in both phases. The second phase of the programme has reached a total of 160,651 children to date, of which girls of all ages, including adolescent girls, constitute 47% (75,606).

EU Aid

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what plans she has to reallocate Official Development Assistance previously allocated to the European Union following the UK's withdrawal from the EU.

Wendy Morton: As a Member State, the UK spent approximately 10% of our Official Development Assistance (ODA) through the EU each year. Going forward we will be able to make our own decisions about where, when and how we invest that money. The UK will continue to play a leading role in tackling global development challenges in support of the national interest.Under the Withdrawal Agreement the UK will honour its share of commitments made to the EU budget and off-budget funds during the period of our membership. For DFID, this means that we will meet our commitments to EU development programmes approved by 31 December 2020 until their closure. As these are multi-year programmes, this will result in a declining spending tail of ODA contributions that we expect to run until 2027.Ministers will take decisions on reallocating ODA funding through normal departmental processes and DFID’s bid to the Spending Review, in line with the conclusions of the Integrated Review.

Department for International Development: Departmental Responsibilities

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what her priorities are for her Department.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: This Government is proud to maintain the UK’s commitment to spend 0.7 per cent of GNI on development and will do more to help countries receiving aid to become self-sufficient. The UK will continue to lead on promoting girls’ education around the world, tackling climate change, ending the preventable deaths of mothers, new-born babies and children by 2030, and also lead the way in eradicating Ebola and malaria. This will transform the lives of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable; and we are clear that a world in which free societies and liberal values are able to flourish is firmly in our own interests. The Integrated Security, Defence and Foreign Policy Review will be a wholesale reassessment of our foreign, defence, security and development policy.

Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance: Expenditure

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much Official Development Assistance her Department has allocated to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance in each year from 2010 to 2020.

Wendy Morton: Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, provides subsidised vaccines and health and immunisation systems support to 68 of the world’s poorest countries. Immunisation is one of the most cost-effective interventions in health and a key driver of progress towards reducing child mortality.The UK is proud to be one Gavi’s strongest supporters. We provide Gavi with multi-year commitments, which cover five-year periods. This enables Gavi to provide countries with predictable and sustainable financing, which is essential to launching long-term, lasting routine immunisation programmes in national health systems.The UK committed £1.32 billion to Gavi between 2011-2015. The UK’s current £1.44 billion of support to Gavi between 2016-2020 has saved 1.4 million lives from vaccine-preventable diseases in 68 of the world’s poorest countries. The UK hosted pledging conference for Gavi on 3-4th June 2020, is an opportunity for the UK to use its global leadership to secure Gavi the funds it needs to immunise 300 million more children and save at least 7 million lives between 2021 and 2025.

Private Infrastructure Development Group: Fossil Fuels

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 12 February to Question 14008 on Private Infrastructure Development Group: Fossil Fuels, how many fossil fuel related infrastructure projects the Department has allocated funding to through the Private Infrastructure Development Group; when funding was allocated to each of those projects; and how much funding was allocated.

James Duddridge: DFID is one of a number of institutions who provide funding to the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG). DFID has disbursed $1,036 million to PIDG between 2002 and 2018. During that time, PIDG has made investment commitments totalling $3,610 million.During this 16-year period, PIDG has provided funding to 32 fossil fuel related infrastructure projects. These are principally investments in power projects in the poorest countries to increase access to power, some of which use fossil fuels to generate electricity. Nine of these funding commitments were in the form of early-stage advisory services.Over the same period, PIDG provided funding to 35 renewable power projects.Data on all PIDG investment commitments are available online via its Results Monitoring Database and its annual reports. DFID also publishes data relating to its funding to PIDG via DevTracker.

Department for Education

Apprentices: East Midlands

Claudia Webbe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to promote degree apprenticeships as a route to an undergraduate degree in (a) Leicester and (b) the East Midlands.

Gillian Keegan: Degree and degree-level apprenticeships offer people of all ages and from all backgrounds the chance to earn while they learn and access a range of professions. We are continuing to promote these apprenticeships as a genuine, high-quality alternative to traditional academic study, and want to make sure we reach those who might not otherwise have considered higher education as an option. Our Five Cities project continues to promote the uptake of all apprenticeships by Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic individuals in Leicester, whilst our Opportunities Through Apprenticeships project is working to identify skills gaps and encourage new higher-level provision within Nottingham.To support employers in raising awareness of opportunities in their businesses across the whole of England, we have worked with the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) to develop an online higher and degree apprenticeship vacancy listing. The most recent update was published in February’s National Apprenticeship Week for starts in 2020. It includes over a thousand vacancies from employers in a range of sectors, from aeronautical engineering to town planning.Representatives from the National Apprenticeship Service also attended 30 UCAS exhibitions in 2019, engaging with around 10,000 young people, their parents and careers advisers. This work will continue during 2020 alongside our wider communications and marketing activity to raise the profile of apprenticeships, including the second phase of our ‘Fire It Up’ campaign. A number of the apprentices who feature in advertising throughout the second phase are undertaking degree or degree-level apprenticeships.

Schools: Uniforms

Andrew Lewer: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the role school-specific uniform plays in counteracting bullying in schools.

Andrew Lewer: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the role school-specific uniform plays in promoting a sense of identity within schools and their local communities.

Andrew Lewer: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to hold discussions with school-uniform retailers, distributors and manufacturers on his Department's school uniform guidance; and what plans he has to work with that sector to implement that guidance.

Andrew Lewer: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the (a) quality and (b) value for money of school-specific uniform.

Nick Gibb: The Department strongly encourages schools to have a school uniform. We recognise the valuable role it can play in contributing to the ethos of a school and setting an appropriate tone.It is for the governing body of a school (or in the case of academies, the academy trust) to decide whether there should be a school uniform and what it will be.When deciding upon a school uniform policy and considering how the school uniform should be sourced, governing bodies should give highest priority to the consideration of cost and value for money for parents. Governing bodies should be able to demonstrate that they have obtained the best value for money from suppliers.The Government is pleased to support the recently introduced Private Member’s Bill to ‘Make provision for guidance about the cost aspects of school uniform policies.’ It will place a duty on the Secretary of State for Education to issue statutory guidance pertaining to the cost aspects of school uniform policies. We intend to consider the views of a full range of stakeholders when developing this statutory guidance.

Apprentices: Suffolk

Dr Dan Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent steps he has taken to support apprenticeships in Suffolk.

Gillian Keegan: We have introduced a wide range of reforms to improve the quality of apprenticeships and to encourage employers across England to create more high-quality apprenticeship opportunities. Since May 2010, there have been 4,392,000 apprenticeship starts in England. Of these, 55,390 apprenticeship starts have been in Suffolk. From August 2020, all starts will be on the new apprenticeship standards which are replacing frameworks. These are designed and driven by industry to create apprenticeships that are high quality, providing employers in Suffolk and across England with the skills that they need. Over 510 apprenticeship standards have already been approved for delivery to apprentices. We are working hard to encourage take-up of our apprenticeship programme. The third phase of the Fire it Up campaign launched in January, targeting those audience groups that contribute to widening participation in apprenticeships. Our 13th annual National Apprenticeship Week took place in February. Nearly 900 events were held across the country, aiming to change perceptions of apprenticeships. In addition, in January 2018, we introduced a legal requirement for schools to give training providers the chance to talk to pupils about technical qualifications and apprenticeships in order for young people to hear about alternative options to academic routes. We also offer a free service to schools through the Apprenticeship Support and Knowledge (ASK) project to ensure that teachers have the knowledge and support to enable them to promote apprenticeships to their students. In the last academic year, the ASK Programme reached over 300,000 students. This year (2019-20), funding available for investment in apprenticeships in England is over £2.5 billion, which is double what was spent in 2010. This is supporting employers of all sizes, across England, to provide high quality apprenticeship opportunities for people of all ages and backgrounds. We are moving smaller employers onto our award-winning apprenticeship service to give them a greater choice of training providers. They can also benefit from transferred funds from levy payers. Levy transfers can help to support new apprenticeship starts in supply chains and address local skills needs. Suffolk County Council and New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnerships are working with local employers to take advantage of transfers in order to support more small and medium-sized employers in the area to offer apprenticeships.

Apprentices: Agriculture

Dr Dan Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent steps he has taken to allocate additional resources for apprenticeships in the agricultural sector.

Gillian Keegan: We have introduced a wide range of reforms to improve the quality of apprenticeships and to encourage employers of all sizes and in all sectors across England to create more high-quality apprenticeship opportunities for people of all ages and backgrounds.This year (2019-20), the funding available for investment in apprenticeships in England is over £2.5 billion, which is double what was spent in 2010. To support employers in sectors such as agriculture to address their skills needs and grow their apprenticeship programmes, we are moving smaller employers onto our award-winning apprenticeship service. This will give these employers a greater choice of training providers. Smaller employers, such as those in supply chains, can also benefit from transferred funds from levy payers.New high-quality apprenticeship standards, designed and driven by industry, are providing employers with the skills that they need. Over 510 apprenticeship standards have been approved for delivery to apprentices so far. From August 2020 all starts will be on these employer-designed standards.Standards available in the sector include land-based service engineering, crop technician and farrier at level 3, and poultry worker and abattoir worker at level 2. Further standards are in development including agriculture / horticultural professional adviser at level 6. The agriculture sector can also benefit from standards available that support all employers, such as those in business and administration, and digital. A number of T level pathways including the agriculture, environmental and animal care T Level are also being developed.Our apprenticeships reforms are helping agricultural technologies to transform farming, creating new types of jobs and requirements for new kinds of skills, and a sufficient and appropriately skilled workforce, which is essential to continued industry growth, productivity and safety.

Postgraduate Education: Fees and Charges

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of abolishing application fees for postgraduate students; and if he will make a statement.

Michelle Donelan: Higher education providers in England are autonomous bodies and therefore have discretion over the application fees they charge for postgraduate courses.

Higher Education: Disadvantaged

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the effect of the student finance system on the decisions of students from low income backgrounds on whether to undertake higher education.

Michelle Donelan: The student finance system provides support for fees and living costs to assist students from all backgrounds to take part in higher education. In 2019, record rates of disadvantaged 18-year-olds were accepted onto full time university courses. 18-year-olds from disadvantaged backgrounds were 62% more likely to go to university in 2019 than in 2009. The independent panel’s report on the Review of Post-18 Education and Funding was published in May 2019. The government is considering the recommendations made in the report, including those relating to the student finance system. The government will conclude the review alongside the next spending review.

Schools: North East Bedfordshire

Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of schools in the North East Bedfordshire constituency were rated by Ofsted as (a) good and (b) outstanding in (i) 2010 and (ii) at their last inspection.

Nick Gibb: The information requested is published by Ofsted.For the North East Bedfordshire constituency, Ofsted’s data shows that the percentage of schools rated as either good or outstanding has remained stable; 82% in 2010 and 83% in 2019.As of 31 August 2010, 53% of schools in the constituency were rated as good and 29% of schools were rated as outstanding. The equivalent figures for England were 50% and 18% respectively.The latest available data is for 31 August 2019, which shows 68% of schools in the constituency were rated as good and 15% of schools were rated as outstanding. The equivalent figures for England were 66% and 20% respectively.

Teachers: Migrant Workers

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many teachers in UK schools are EU nationals.

Nick Gibb: The Migration Advisory Committee’s report, ‘A full review of the Shortage Occupation List’, published in May 2019, estimated that around 4% of secondary school teachers and around 2% of primary and nursery school teachers were born in the European Economic Area (EEA) (excluding UK).The Department publishes data on the nationality of initial teacher training (ITT) trainees, which is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/initial-teacher-training-trainee-number-census-2019-to-2020.In 2019-20, there were 28,859 postgraduate new entrants to ITT whose nationality was known, which was 98% of all postgraduate new entrants. Of these, 5% (1,484) were EEA nationals (excluding UK).

Schools: Migrant Workers

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many people on the Erasmus scheme work in schools in the UK.

Michelle Donelan: The Department for Education has made no estimate of the number of people on the Erasmus Scheme working in schools in the UK. This is because the European Commission records the number of incoming mobilities to the UK. Statistical analysis provides a breakdown by country for school staff mobilities (KA101) but does not break down figures for centralised school mobilities, such as strategic partnerships for school education (KA201) and school exchange partnerships (KA229) by country. Under the 2018 call for proposals, the UK had 2,345 participants for KA101, and 1,912 participants under the 2017 call for proposals.More information can be found in the annual statistical analysis for Erasmus+: https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/about/statistics_en.

Languages: Education

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the UK's withdrawal from the EU on the provision of language teaching in the UK.

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the effect of the UK leaving the EU on teacher recruitment in the UK.

Nick Gibb: All teachers from the EU, including those teaching languages, make a welcome and important contribution to our school system. The Government has made an unequivocal guarantee to all EU citizens living and working here by protecting their rights in UK law through the Withdrawal Agreement Act and the EU Settlement Scheme. We have already provided certainty to almost 2.5 million people, including teachers, granted status through the EU Settlement Scheme.On 19 February, the Government published a policy statement which set out further detail on the future points-based immigration system, that will be introduced from January 2021, to attract the brightest and best talent from around the world. As skilled workers, teachers will score sufficient points for a visa under this system if they have an offer of a teaching job that pays at least as much as the minimum salary range for teachers and they are able to speak English to the required level.

English Language and Mathematics: GCSE

Neil O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, since the introduction of the GCSE resit policy for maths and English, how many and what proportion of 16-18 year olds resat (a) maths GCSE, (b) English GCSE and (c) both maths and English GCSE by (i) household income and (ii) special education needs.

Neil O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, since the introduction of the GCSE resit policy for maths and English in England, how many and what proportion of students resitting sat those exams (a) once, (b) twice and (c) more than twice.

Neil O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, since the introduction of the GCSE resit policy in maths and English,  how many and what proportion of 16-18 year olds resat (a) maths GCSE, (b) English GCSE and (c) maths and English GCSE and were also enrolled on (i) Level 3 courses, (ii) Level 2 courses, (iii) Level 1 courses and (iv) other courses.

Nick Gibb: The information requested is not routinely available in 16 to 18 publications and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.The closest available information can be found in tables 11a and 11b as part of the ‘A level and other 16 to 18 results: 2018 to 2019 (revised)’[1] national statistics, which were released on the 23 January 2020.Students who are continuing to study English and mathematics, who are not yet at the end of 16 to 18 study, or who had previously achieved a grade 4/C or above in these subjects, will not be included in these figures. [1] A level and other 16 to 18 results: 2018 to 2019 (revised): https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/a-level-and-other-16-to-18-results-2018-to-2019-revised. Please refer to table 11a “Matrix of prior attainment and progress point scores in GCSE English and other English qualifications by students at the end of 16-18 studies”, and table 11b “Matrix of prior attainment and progress point scores in GCSE mathematics and other mathematics qualifications by students at the end of 16-18 studies”.

Teachers: Training

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he plans to provide financial support to students that are undertaking teacher training courses and were not eligible for a bursary in September 2019.

Nick Gibb: All students undertaking a non-salaried initial teacher training (ITT) course can apply for financial support from Student Finance England. The standard student finance offer is available to both undergraduate and postgraduate non-salaried trainee teachers, regardless of whether or not they are also eligible for an ITT bursary.The student finance offer for these trainee teachers includes a means-tested maintenance loan to support their living costs. Additional grant funding is also available to those who have children, adult dependents or a disability. Finally, all non-salaried trainee teachers can apply for a tuition fee loan, so they do not need to pay fees upfront.

Young People: Carers

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that young carers and their families are (a) identified and (b) adequately supported so that those young people can be helped to achieve at school.

Vicky Ford: The government is committed to supporting young carers so that they are properly protected from excessive or inappropriate caring responsibilities and are supported to achieve their full potential. Consistent identification remains challenging, with many being ‘hidden’ and therefore unrecognised and/or unsupported.Changes through the Children and Families Act 2014 simplified the legislation relating to young adult carers’ assessments, making rights and duties clearer to both young people and practitioners. This included promoting whole family approaches which triggers both and adult support services into action – assessing why a child is caring, what needs to change and what would help the family to prevent children or young people from taking on this responsibility in the first place. The Department for Education also provides schools with £2.4 billion each year in additional funding through the pupil premium to support disadvantaged pupils. We expect schools to make effective use of their pupil premium budgets. Schools know their pupils best and will spend the grant accordingly to meet pupil needs, which includes where needs are based on a parent’s health issues or disability. We published the Children in Need Review conclusion in 2019. This sets out our approach to helping schools and children’s social care improve the educational outcomes of children in need, including those young carers assessed as being in need of help and protection.

Schools: Finance

Robert Halfon: to ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he plans to take to ensure adequate funding for schools.

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to ensure adequate funding for schools.

Nick Gibb: The Department is giving schools the largest cash boost in a decade, investing a total of £14 billion additional funding for schools over the next three years. This will allow school funding to increase by £2.6 billion in 2020-21, followed by increases of £4.8 billion and £7.1 billion in 2021-22 and 2022-23 respectively, compared to 2019-20.We will continue to distribute funding through the National Funding Formula (NFF), which ensures that funding is based on schools’ and pupils’ needs and characteristics. This will ensure that per-pupil funding for every school can rise at least in line with inflation next year; and faster than inflation for most. On average schools are attracting 4.2% more per pupil.We have also recently laid regulations in Parliament which give legal force to the new minimum per pupil funding levels. This will allow us to aid the lowest funded schools to ensure that every secondary school attracts at least £5,000 per pupil next year, and every primary school at least £3,750 – on the path to receiving at least £4,000 per pupil the following year.Finally, we have removed the gains cap in the NFF for 2020-21, so that all schools will attract their full allocations under the formula. This means that we can deliver the greatest gains to areas historically underfunded to ensure that they have the right investment to deliver an outstanding education.The Department will continue to move towards a ‘hard’ national formula as soon as possible, meaning a single national formula will determine every school’s final budget, rather than it being set independently by each local authority. We will work closely with local authorities and the sector in making this transition carefully.

Overseas Students: British Overseas Territories

Scott Benton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the number of university students from British Overseas Territories studying in the UK.

Scott Benton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on the number of university students studying in the UK from the British Overseas Territories of charging those students the same level of tuition fees as British students.

Scott Benton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential merits to the (a) UK and (b) British Overseas Territories (BOTs) of increasing the number of students from BOTs studying at UK universities.

Michelle Donelan: The government fully recognises the important contribution that international students make to the UK’s higher education sector, including those from the British Overseas Territories, both economically and culturally.We have set out our ambition to increase the number of international higher education students hosted in the UK to 600,000 per year by 2030, within the International Education Strategy.The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) publishes statistics on students studying at UK Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) by domicile. The latest available data is from 2018/19, published in January 2020.In 2018/19, HESA estimated there to be 2,130 British Overseas Territory domiciled students enrolled at UK HEIs at all levels of study. The table below shows the breakdown by domicile. Table: Student enrolments by country of domicile, UK HEIs, 2018/19Domicile[1][2][3]2018/19Anguilla55Bermuda500British Virgin Islands180Cayman Islands315Falkland Islands50Gibraltar900Montserrat15Pitcairn Islands0South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands0St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha25Turks and Caicos Islands95British Overseas Territories Total2,130 British and EU nationals residing in British Overseas Territories or in other Member States’ overseas territories are currently eligible for Home Fee Status if they are studying at either undergraduate or postgraduate level at English HEIs and have been living in the European Economic Area, Switzerland or the overseas territories for the three years prior to the first day of the first academic year of the course. They will remain eligible for home fee status for the duration of courses starting in the 2020/21 academic year or before. We will provide sufficient notice for prospective students on fee arrangements ahead of the 2021/22 academic year and subsequent years in future. The Department for Education (DfE) funds Commonwealth scholarships for five or six PhD scholarships from non-ODA Commonwealth countries. DfE funding for the Queen Elizabeth Commonwealth Scholarships means there will be 150 new scholarships awarded by 2025, all of which are open to British citizens from overseas territories. [1] Numbers are rounded to the nearest 5, so components may not sum to totals.[2] Domicile refers to country of student’s permanent address prior to entry.British Antarctic Territories and British Indian Ocean Territories are omitted from this analysis as HESA defines them as having ‘no settled inhabitants’. HESA defines 'no settled inhabitants' as no inhabitants apart from military and scientific personnel, staff of contractors and seasonal residents (https://www.hesa.ac.uk/collection/c18051/a/domicile).[3] Source: DfE analysis of the HESA student record https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/students/table-28.

History: Textbooks

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he takes to ensure the accuracy of information in Key Stage 3 history textbooks.

Nick Gibb: ​It is for education publishers to ensure that their textbooks are accurate, and for schools to determine the textbooks and other curriculum resources they wish to buy and how to use them in classrooms. The Department is currently piloting an approach to curriculum resources through the Curriculum Fund. The aim is to establish how high-quality, complete curriculum programmes in history, geography and science can support teaching in these subjects, reducing teacher workload and improving pupil outcomes. The early findings from independent research on the pilots published on 11 October 2019 are promising, and can be found at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-curriculum-programme-pilot-early-findings.

Children in Care: Siblings

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he plans to take to amend the Care Planning, Placement and Case Review (England) Regulations 2010 to allow for contact to take place between a looked-after child and a sibling that is not looked after.

Vicky Ford: It remains our intention to undertake a review of the regulations, as committed to during the passage of the Children and Social Work Bill, as soon as resources permit. In the meantime, we are clear that allowing reasonable contact between looked after children and their siblings is absolutely right where this is in the best interests of the children involved and the Children Act 1989 already provides for this.

Universities: Industrial Disputes

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance his Department has issued to students on claiming a refund on their tuition fees in the event of cancelled lectures during industrial action.

Michelle Donelan: We expect higher education providers to consider their obligations under consumer law and students’ consumer rights carefully, including during industrial action. This includes ensuring that a range of appropriate remedies and mitigations are available, which may include financial compensation, to prevent and minimise the effects of any strike action upon their students. The Office for Students, the regulator for higher education in England, has issued guidance for students affected by industrial action. It encourages students to discuss with their university or college whether it is possible to make up for any lost teaching, and whether any other loss of services and support can be rearranged so as to minimise the disruption that students have experienced. Where lost teaching has had an impact on assessments or other work that has had to be submitted, students may be able to submit a claim for this to be taken into account as part of the university’s mitigating or extenuating circumstances process. If the issue is not satisfactorily resolved, students can complain through the university’s complaints process; if they are unhappy with the outcome, students have the right to make a complaint to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education (OIA). The OIA has also published guidance on its website about its approach to complaints by students affected by the industrial action.

Physical Education

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to promote physical literacy and competitive sport within schools.

Nick Gibb: ​The Government is already taking significant steps to promote physical literacy and competitive sport in schools. Through the Primary Physical Education and Sport Premium, we have invested over £1 billion of ring-fenced funding to primary schools to improve physical education (PE) and sport since 2013. Positive outcomes reported by schools include increases in the level of competitive sport, increases in the proportion of children doing 30 minutes of activity each day at school, and increases in teacher knowledge and confidence. The Government also provides support for competitive sport through the School Games programme funded by Sport England and delivered by the Youth Sport Trust. It provides events at local, regional and national levels in 40 different sports. Schools can also enter competitions run by the different National Governing Bodies for sports. The Department is working with DCMS to develop further proposals to deliver on the manifesto commitment to invest in primary school PE teaching and ensure that it is being properly delivered to develop physical literacy. We will also build on our existing School Sport and Activity Action plan to do more to help schools make good use of their sports facilities including for competitive sport. Proposals will be confirmed later in the year.

Music: Primary Education

Greg Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of primary schools in England have a dedicated music teacher.

Nick Gibb: The information requested is not held centrally.

Ministry of Justice

Prison Accommodation

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate his Department has made of the average number of hours in cells each day by (a) male and (b) female prisoners in the latest period for which information is available.

Lucy Frazer: The information requested is not held. HMPPS does not currently collect or hold specific data on the amount of time prisoners spend out of their cell. We intend to develop a measure on time spent out of cell and are currently exploring options, including working with HMIP to understand the methodology used by the inspectorate to examine prisoner time out of cell during their inspections. We do, however, currently publish information relating to the activities undertaken by prisoners while in custody. This includes the number of prisoners that have completed Accredited Programmes in custody, the number of hours worked in prison industries, and the number of prisoners released from prison on a temporary licence. Examples of published data on prisoner activity can be found via the following links;https://data.justice.gov.uk/prisons/prison-reformhttps://www.gov.uk/government/collections/prison-and-probation-trusts-performance-statistics#prison-performance-statisticshttps://www.gov.uk/government/collections/offender-management-statistics-quarterly

Terrorism: Sentencing

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 12 February 2020 to Question 13456, on Terrorism Offences, what estimate his Department has made of the cost of answering that question; and if he will provide a breakdown of that cost.

Chris Philp: Question 13456 exceeded the £850 cost limit because it would have required us to identify ‘terrorist-related’ offences, and the detailed context of each offence is not available to us in our criminal histories data. As such, we would have had to review more than 225,000 court records.

Reoffenders

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will list the offences committed by those offenders who had previously been released on licence and recalled to custody but who had not been returned to custody by 31 December 2019; and how many of those offences were in the categories of (a) violence against the person and (b) sexual offences.

Lucy Frazer: On 30 January 2020 the quarterly offender management statistics were published which set out the list of original offences committed by those offenders recalled, but not returned, to custody since 1984 as of 31 December 2019. Of the 1953 offenders within this cohort, 330 had originally committed offences categorised as violence against the person and 60 as sexual offences. The full breakdown is set out below: 31-Dec-19All offences1,953  Violence against the person330Murder21Manslaughter7Other and attempted homicide19Wounding143Assaults52Other violence against the person88  Sexual offences60Rape19Other sexual offences40Gross indecency with children1  Robbery160Burglary267Theft and handling241Fraud and forgery220Drug offences388Motoring offences59Other offences228Once officials on behalf of the Secretary of State for Justice have revoked an offender’s licence, it is for the Police to find, apprehend and return the offender to custody.

Prisoners' Release: Curfews

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of offenders sentenced to determinate prison sentences of less than four years were released on Home Detention Curfew before the half way point in their sentence in each of the last three years.

Chris Philp: Only prisoners sentenced to at least 12 weeks but less than four years are eligible to be considered for release under the Home Detention Curfew (HDC) scheme. The number and proportion of eligible prisoners released on HDC in each of the last three years is published in table A3_5 of Prison Releases 2018, which may be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/offender-management-statistics-quarterly-october-to-december-2018 HDC is a robust scheme which allows prisoners to be released up to 135 days before their automatic release date at the halfway point of their sentence, to work towards rehabilitation and resettlement in the community, while remaining subject to strict conditions. If they breach these, they face being returned to custody. Research on early release with electronic monitoring has shown no increase in re-offending.

Crimes of Violence: Emergency Services

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the effect of the Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act 2018 on the demand for custodial resources; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Philp: Attacks against our brave emergency workers who protect us are appalling and cowardly. That is why we doubled the maximum penalty for assaulting an emergency worker and gave judges the powers to aggravate the sentences for crimes committed against them. In the year ending September 2019, 1,205 people had been sentenced to immediate custody for the new offence of assault on an emergency worker, with custodial sentences averaging around 2-3 months over the period.https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/866997/emergency-workers-table-sept-2019.xlsx

Independent Monitoring Authority for the Citizens' Rights Agreements

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the nomination process and timetable is for the appointment of members to the Independent Monitoring Authority for the Citizen’s Rights Agreements, as proposed in the Withdrawal Agreement.

Alex Chalk: Under the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020, the Secretary of State is to appoint the chair and the other non-executive members of the IMA. My Rt. Hon. Friend the Lord Chancellor will ensure that these appointments are made in good time, before the end of the transition period. Once appointed, the non-executive members will need to appoint certain executive members. The 2020 Act also empowers the Secretary of State to appoint an interim chief executive of the IMA.

Prison Officers

Alicia Kearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what support is his Department provides to prison officers who have been a victim of crime at work.

Lucy Frazer: Prison Officers are some of our finest public servants, and we do not underestimate the challenges faced by everyone working in prisons. We are committed to making prisons a safe place to work and providing prison officers with the right support, training and tools to empower them to do their jobs. We provide post-incident care teams, occupational health support and counselling for members of staff who are assaulted while doing their job and we are currently rolling out TRiM (Trauma Risk Management), a trauma-focused peer support system designed to help people who have experienced a traumatic event. We are rolling out body worn cameras, police-style restraints and PAVA incapacitant spray to prison officers to help them do their job more safely. We have recruited more than 4,200 new prison officers over the past four years and we’re investing £2.75 billion to transform the estate, to make prisons safer and cut crime behind bars. Prisoners who assault staff should feel the full force of the law. We are working closely with the Crown Prosecution Service to ensure prosecutions of prisoners who assault staff along with the strongest possible punishment being imposed. The Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act increases sentences for those who assault prison officers.

Department for International Trade

Export Credit Guarantees: Iran

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what repayments have been made by Iran to UK Export Finance for debt incurred on purchases of UK-manufactured military equipment in the 1970s; and on what dates those repayments were made.

Graham Stuart: No repayments by way of recovery have been made by Iran directly to UK Export Finance for debt incurred on purchases of UK-manufactured military equipment in the 1970s. However, payments have been made to UK Export Finance via exporters, for some contracts in this time period.

Export Credit Guarantees: Iran

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how much debt Iran owes UK Export Finance.

Graham Stuart: Iran’s debt to UK Export Finance is £28.4 million.

Trade Agreements: Environment Protection

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether her Department plans to participate in Environmental Goods Agreement negotiations at the WTO; and what progress has been made in those negotiations to date.

Greg Hands: The UK Government is strongly in favour of seeing negotiations on an Environmental Goods Agreement restart and of playing a key role in them, given the important contribution this agreement would make to tackling climate change. Environmental Goods Agreement negotiations began in the WTO in 2014 but stalled in 2016 due to disagreements in negotiations between prospective signatories.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

First Time Buyers

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the number of first time buyers that have purchased a property through a shared ownership scheme in each year since 2015.

Christopher Pincher: The Department does not collect this information.The total number of new shared ownership properties completed since 2015-16 can be found in Live Table 1007bC here https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-affordable-housing-supply.

Buildings: Insulation

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 6 February 2020 to Question 11599 on Buildings: Insulation, whether the Government has plans to mandate building owners to proactively share information on cladding; and what discussions he has had with the Home Secretary on including that step in the forthcoming Bill on fire safety.

Christopher Pincher: The Home Office will bring forward legislation shortly to put beyond doubt that building owners and managers of all multi-occupied residential buildings must assess the risks from cladding and front doors to individual flats under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. This legislation will:require building owners to review their fire risk assessments to comprehensively cover all common parts of these buildings.affirm that fire and rescue services can take appropriate enforcement action, in particular supporting the remediation of buildings with unsafe cladding in high rise buildingsprovide the firm foundation required for taking forward recommendations from the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase One report (accepted in principle by the Government in October 2019), which called for new legal duties on building owners for high-rise residential buildings around inspection and information sharing with Fire and Rescue Authorities. A consultation on Home Office proposals is due to be issued in the spring.Additionally, the forthcoming Building Safety Bill will put a requirement on dutyholders to ensure accurate and up-to-date building safety information is available and accessible to those who need it. A Mandatory Occurrence Reporting system will be established by the Building Safety Regulator, and dutyholders will be required to report any structural safety or fire safety related event which is perceived by them to represent a significant risk to life, in buildings within the scope of the new regime.

Department for Work and Pensions

Universal Credit

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2020 to Question HL 457 on universal credit, whether her Department plans to evaluate in the Move to universal credit pilot the effect of the managed migration process on disabled people and people with health conditions.

Will Quince: The Department has already committed to undertaking an evaluation of the Move to UC pilot process. This will include an assessment of how the process works for groups of claimants including those with disabilities and health conditions. We will be publishing the evaluation strategy for the Move To UC process in Spring 2020.

Independent Case Examiner

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many complaints against (a) the child maintenance service and child support agency and (b) her Department were accepted for investigation by the Independent Case Examiner in each year since 2014-15; and how many of those complaints were not investigated for at least 12 months after they were received.

Mims Davies: The cases that reach the Independent Case Examiner are the most complex and investigations will not be compromised in order to be completed within certain timescales. We keep people updated about the timings involved with their case and the vast majority of complainants are satisfied with the service they receive. The table below provides information on the number of Child Maintenance Service (CMS) and Child Support Agency (CSA) complaints that were received and accepted for investigation by the Independent Case Examiners Office in each year since 2014-15, and the number of cases that took longer than 12 months to conclude, from the date they were accepted for examination. Please note, we are unable to provide information on the number of cases that waited longer than 12 months for an investigation to commence for each year since 2014-15, and have therefore provided details of those cases that took longer than 12 months to conclude, from the point at which they were accepted for investigation. Year April to MarchCSA & CMS complaints receivedCSA & CMS complaints accepted for investigationCSA & CMS complaints clearedCleared cases that took longer than 12 months to conclude (from date of acceptance)2014-151169495490142015-169364483521132016-178693333802792017-188962603262792018-1912533953422382019-20 (to the end of January 2020)1099395233160

Personal Independence Payment

Angela Crawley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Written Ministerial Statement of 11 February 2020, HCWS104, on Personal Independence Payment, what recent estimate she has made of (a) number of claimants to still be reviewed, (b) the number of claimants entitled to a higher award, and (c) the associated estimated cost.

Justin Tomlinson: Management information at 5 January 2020 shows that so far we have cleared 720,000 cases under the MH decision and 820,000 cases under the RJ decision. Continuous monitoring of the outcomes of the administrative exercise has shown which cases are most likely to benefit from the exercise. We remain on track to complete the exercise in 2020. Claimants unlikely to benefit will be contacted in writing and provided with the information they need to decide whether they might be affected. If they feel they may be affected they will be offered the opportunity for their case to be reviewed. We are currently re-estimating the number of claimants and associated costs as further data on the number of claimants with revised awards has become available as part of our continuous monitoring of the exercise.

Universal Credit

Angela Crawley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will take steps to bring forward to date to extend the repayment period for universal credit advances to 16 months from October 2021.

Will Quince: The Department has announced that from October 2021, the repayment period for these advances will be extended further to 16 months. There are no plans to introduce this earlier. Claimants can access up to 100% of their total expected Universal Credit monthly award, which they can pay back over a period of up to 12 months. Proposed repayments of the advance are explained in advance, and all claimants are advised to request a level of advance which is manageable when considering the repayments required. Work Coaches gauge claimants’ financial needs from their first interview. For those who need help with budgeting, we can signpost to additional support, for example through the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS), who can help with personal budgeting and money management through its free helpline, printed guides and digital guidance.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Common Land

Mr Richard Holden: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the judgment in the judicial review brought by the Commons Committees for Minchinhampton and Rodborough Commons, whether there are commensurate provisions in relation to common land in the Agriculture Bill; and what assessment he has made of the implications of that land for his policies on a future payments scheme.

Victoria Prentis: The impacts of the Minchinhampton and Rodborough Commons case and how payments are made to Commoners are being considered by Defra officials. Commons frequently provide some of the richest opportunities for the provision of environmental public goods and are a unique part of British farming heritage. In 2024 we will be launching the Government’s Environmental Land Management scheme. This will be cornerstone of our new agricultural policy. It will pay public money for public goods, such as those set out in the 25-year environment plan. We are working with our stakeholders including those farming on common land to design it. This includes through a programme of Tests and Trials, a recently launched Policy Discussion Document and a national pilot which will start in 2021.

Home Office

Deportation: Jamaica

Apsana Begum: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the people deported to Jamaica on 11 February 2020 had previously been granted (a) a right of residency and (b) indefinite leave to remain.

Apsana Begum: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether any of the people deported to Jamaica on 11 February 2020 originally entered the UK as a child.

Apsana Begum: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether any of the people deported to Jamaica on 11 February 2020 were the (a) children and (b) grandchildren of people who migrated to the UK from the Commonwealth before 1973.

Apsana Begum: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department has taken steps to ensure the safety of people deported to Jamaica on 11 February 2020.

Apsana Begum: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the people deported to Jamaica on 11 February 2020 had access to legal advice and representation prior to deportation.

Chris Philp: The foreign national offenders who have been removed on this flight have all had their cases fully reviewed to ensure there are no outstanding legal barriers that would prevent their removal from the UK.Under the UK Borders Act 2007, introduced by the Labour Government, a Deportation Order must be made where a foreign national has been convicted of an offence and received a custodial sentence of 12 months or more.This is subject to several exceptions, including where to do so would be a breach of a person’s ECHR rights or the UK’s obligations under the Refugee Convention.A Deportation Order also invalidates any leave to enter or remain that the person has or is subsequently given while the order is in force.In the case of a foreign national who has been sentenced to a period of imprisonment of at least four years, the public interest requires deportation unless there are very compelling circumstances.A foreign national who has been convicted of an offence that has caused serious harm, who is a persistent offender or who represents a threat to national security may be considered for deportation under the Immigration Act 1971, where it is conducive to the public good.The individuals on the flight were foreign national offenders whose offences include manslaughter, rape, violent crime and dealing Class-A drugs.The length of time a person has lived in the UK, as well as the strength of their social, cultural and family ties to the UK are factors considered when determining whether there are very compelling circumstances which satisfy the requirements of the Immigration Rules. Each case is considered on its individual merits and is carefully assessed against a background of relevant case law and in light of published country information, which covers country specific issues.The Home Office works with a number of non-governmental organisations that provide support on arrival for returnees which includes general orientation, access to temporary accommodation, travel, vocational training, job referral and signposting services. We are committed to ensuring safe and dignified returns and reintegration is a key part of thatAll individuals who are detained are made aware of their right to legal representation, and how they can obtain such representation, within 24 hours of their arrival at an immigration removal centre (IRC). The Legal Aid Agency operates legal advice surgeries across the detention estate in England, with detainees receiving up to 30 minutes of advice without reference to financial eligibility or merits of their case.. If they require substantive advice on a matter which is in scope of legal aid then full legal advice can be provided.

Immigration Controls

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to publish her Department’s (a) proposals for a points based immigration system and (b) guidance on that system for for (i) local authorities, (ii) charities, (iii) businesses and (iv) individuals planning to visit, work, study or settle in the UK from 2021.

Kevin Foster: The Government published its policy statement on the UK’s Points-Based Immigration System on 19 February. A copy of the policy statement can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-uks-points-based-immigration-system-policy-statement/the-uks-points-based-immigration-system-policy-statement.A programme of engagement will begin in March 2020 to raise awareness of the new system, ensuring those affected by the changes are fully aware of what it means for them and understand how the system will operate. Further guidance will be published before the new system goes live in January 2021.

Wales Office

Wales Office: Third Sector

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how much funding he has allocated to civil society and campaigning bodies in each of the last three years.

David T C Davies: The Office of the Secretary of State for Wales has not allocated any funding to civil society and campaigning bodies in the last three years.

Church Commissioners

Churches: Bats

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the right hon. Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, what (a) policy changes and (b) steps the Church of England is taking in relation to the 2019 survey of bats in churches undertaken with funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund,

Andrew Selous: The £3.8m funding from the National Heritage Lottery Fund that was secured in 2018, enabled not just one survey, but a five-year Bats in Churches partnership project made up of the Church of England, Natural England, Historic England, the Bat Conservation Trust, and the Churches Conservation Trust.The project is working with ecologists, church architects, heritage experts and church communities to support and develop bespoke solutions for around 120 churches struggling with unsustainable bat roosts across the country. Churches that are part of the project are continuously monitored to ensure there is no damage to the bat populations. Additionally, a nationwide volunteer-led four-year survey, the ‘Bats in Churches Study’ is to be launched this summer and will give an in-depth picture of how bats are using Church of England churches and the attitudes of churchgoers towards them.The Bats in Churches project is now in its second year and can report the delivery of three successful mitigation works in some of the worst affected churches, in Braunston-in-Rutland, Tattershall and Swanton Morley. These three schemes have enabled congregations and the wider community to co-exist harmoniously alongside the bats and for church heritage to be respected.Other projects nearing completion include:St Pega’s Church Peakirk, following a lead theft that has enabled bat mitigation to be incorporated into the re-roofing repair work.St John the Baptist Church in Cold Overton is similarly incorporating bat mitigation into its repairs.Support for churches sheltering bats is available from the Bats in Churches project who are running events to build networks of volunteers, links to bat and heritage groups and specialist cleaning workshops and advice.

Cabinet Office

Voting Rights: EU Nationals

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Government plans to bring forward legislative proposals to amend section 2(1)(c) of the Representation of the People Act 1983.

Chloe Smith: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 05 February 2020.The correct answer should have been:

The Government has no plans to change the voting age, having been elected on a manifesto commitment to retain the voting age at 18. The entitlement of resident Commonwealth and Irish citizens to vote reflects our close historical ties with Commonwealth countries and the reciprocal arrangements UK has with Ireland. The Government has no plans to alter these rights. In relation to relevant citizens of the Union, I refer the Hon member to the answer which I gave to PQ 1802 on 29 January 2020.The Scottish Parliament is responsible for the franchise for local elections in Scotland. The Welsh Assembly is responsible for the franchise for local elections in Wales.

Chloe Smith: The Government has no plans to change the voting age, having been elected on a manifesto commitment to retain the voting age at 18. The entitlement of resident Commonwealth and Irish citizens to vote reflects our close historical ties with Commonwealth countries and the reciprocal arrangements UK has with Ireland. The Government has no plans to alter these rights. In relation to relevant citizens of the Union, I refer the Hon member to the answer which I gave to PQ 1802 on 29 January 2020.The Scottish Parliament is responsible for the franchise for local elections in Scotland. The Welsh Assembly is responsible for the franchise for local elections in Wales.

Homicide

Philip Davies: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many (a) men and (b) women were victims of homicide in the latest year for which information is available.

Philip Davies: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many (a) men and (b) women were killed by their (i) male and (ii) female current or ex-partner in the latest year for which information is available.

Chloe Smith: The information requested falls under the UK Statistics Authority. I have therefore asked the Authority to respond.



UKSA Response 
(PDF Document, 59.89 KB)

Civil Servants: Work Experience

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what university each intern on the Summer Diversity Internship Programme attended in each year since 2015.

Chloe Smith: We do not currently cross-tabulate the information relating to university and the Summer Diversity Internship Programme. This could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Sunningdale Park

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many of the (a) 103 apartments for people over 55 and (b) 168 new homes scheduled to be built on the former Government Civil Service College site at Sunningdale Park will be classed as affordable housing.

Chloe Smith: Sunningdale Park was sold, generating £48.4 million for the public purse and unlocking surplus Government land for new homes.Details of the proposed redevelopment, which has been granted planning permission, are available on the website of the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead Council.

Prime Minister: Staff

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the average hourly pay is of employees identified as (a) male, (b) female and (c) other gender identity at each grade in the Prime Minister's Office.

Chloe Smith: The Prime Minister’s Office is an integral part of the Cabinet Office and is included in this reply.The Cabinet Office, along with other Government Departments, has published information about the gender pay gap in its workforce annually since 2017. The report for 2019 is available at https://gender-pay-gap.service.gov.uk/Employer/FukQqlAW.

Cabinet Office: Staff

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many senior civil servants appointed to positions in his private office had previously been (a) political appointees in the Cabinet Office and (b) employed by a political party since 2015.

Chloe Smith: Information on Government Special Advisers is published regularly. Other Civil Servants are recruited in accordance with civil service recruitment principles.

Treasury

Personal Income

Duncan Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the minimum income guarantee.

Steve Barclay: It is for Local Authorities to set Minimum Income Guarantee rates in their area, subject to nationally mandated floors. At the 2019 Spending Round we gave LAs access to up to an additional £1.5bn for social care, on top of existing grants. More widely, we will urgently seek a cross-government consensus to bring forward proposals and legislation for long-term care reform.

Borders: Northern Ireland

Simon Hoare: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the allocation of funding under the New Decade, New Approach agreement, how much of that funding the UK Government plans to disburse in each of the next 10 financial years.

Simon Hoare: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the £2 billion in funding announced in the New Decade, New Approach agreement, what proportion of that amount is (a) resource and (b) capital funding.

Steve Barclay: As part of the New Decade, New Approach agreement, the UK Government agreed to provide financial support of £2 billion to the Northern Ireland Executive. £30 million of resource funding was provided in the current financial year. Further details, including the levels of funding in future financial years and the resource and capital split, will be provided in due course.

Employment: Taxation

Alyn Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department has taken to prepare SMEs for the proposed changes to the IR35 rules from April 2020.

Alyn Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department has taken to advise people affected by proposed changes to the IR35 rules from April 2020.

Jesse Norman: The Government is committed to working with organisations to ensure changes to the rules are implemented correctly. HMRC are undertaking an extensive programme of education and support to help organisations prepare for the reform. This includes: Offering one-to-one support to more than 2,000 of the UK’s biggest employers, and writing directly to 43,000 medium sized businesses and other organisations.Providing large and medium sized businesses, public bodies, and charities with factsheets to share with their contractors, and publishing this factsheet on gov.uk.Holding workshops with small tax agents, recruitment agencies, charities, and public bodies.Holding at least weekly webinars, with small tax agents, recruitment agencies, charities, public bodies and contractors.An enhanced version of the Check Employment Status for Tax online tool was published in November 2019 to help individuals and organisations make the right status determinations and apply the off-payroll rules correctly. The reform of the off-payroll working rules in April 2020 will apply only to medium and large-sized businesses, minimising administrative burdens for the vast majority of engagers. The existing rules will continue to apply to the smallest 1.5m businesses.